Almost Instant Tomato Soup

Almost Instant Tomato Soup

1 T butter

2 T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves

2 T flour

3 c chicken broth

28 oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes

1 t sugar

1/4 t salt

1/4 t pepper

1/2 t dried basil

In a stockpot, heat butter and oil. Add onion and garlic and saute until soft, about ten minutes. Sprinkle flour over onions and stir. Add chicken broth, tomatoes plus liquid, sugar, salt, pepper, and basil - bring to a boil and then lower heat and cover. Simmer thirty minutes and then puree using an immersion blender, blender or food processor.

For cheese toast garnish: slice baguette at angle, rub with garlic, sprinkle with grated parmesan and broil until cheese melts.       

Printable version here

Notes: After a week of the flu I wanted something hot, light, soupy and easy. I made this last night and it was so good I am making another batch right now. I think the original recipe was in Fine Cooking but I could not find the issue when I made it so let's call it an inspired version. 

Comments

[sozzled]

one of my favorite soup recipes ever is basically that only minus the chicken broth, add milk and a brick of cream cheese. roasted red pepper is nice too. I heart tomato soup :-)

[Cheryl]

yum, yum, yum.

[Helen]

I like the sounds of this, and the looks of it too, especially with the bread boat floating in the middle.

[Beth]

I made this last night but I cut the recipe in half since it was just for one (me!).

I wish I had made the whole thing - it was soo good i'm going to make more tonight.

:)

[Leah]

Julia,

I've read your blog since just before the twins were born but haven't commented till now.

I made this for lunch today with grilled cheese sandwiches. I had everything good to go, with the baby in his high chair, the two-year-old banging her empty bowl and my husband mitigating the waiting crew. The last step was to blend the simmered pot. Maybe I didn't seal the lid to the blender properly. Either that or the lid was steam-pressured heavenward, but the resulting thing was a volcanic eruption of tomato soup. There were splatters on the ceiling.

Still in my pajamas at noon (it was just one of those kind of days), I lifted the blender from its base, carried it into the dining room and poured the servings of soup into awaiting bowls. I had tomato soup in one gory splash across my midsection. I sat down, picked up my spoon and proceeded to eat a lovely meal, I mean, it was delicious. My daughter oohed and ahhed over this soup, and she is a picky one. I waved away inquiries from my husband about the soup I had accumulated on my shirt. He loved it, too. I said something about how it would become part of our kids' winter memories.

Then I stolidly went into the kitchen and cleaned the splatters that would have made a shot-putter jealous. They were on the windows, the ceiling, the coffeemaker, the floor. It was worth it. I have leftovers. Thanks for writing about food. So appreciated.

All Best,

Leah

[reb]

I made this for lunch yesterday, and I'm so so happy I did. It was wonderful, and amazingly easy and healthy! It smelled so good I was almost too impatient to blend it in two smaller batches, but after reading Leah's comment, I'm very glad I did!

[Nellig]

I made a botched version of this soup (forgot about the flour, wondered why the soup was so thin, added lentils to thicken it, had to wait an extra half-hour until they cooked, also had no basil, and also only had plain tinned tomatoes) and it was STILL lovely.

Julia, you're a genius.

[sash]

So good. Added a (teeny!) bit of cayenne, a little cumin, and dallop of sour cream, and it was AMAZING!

[Lee]

Here is a nice crouton recipe for you. I got it from Cook's Illustrated alongside a gazpacho recipe, but I think it would work well here.

1 baguette, cubed
3T olive oil
1/4 t salt
2 cloves garlic, minced

Combine olive oil, salt and garlic in a bowl. Set it aside for 20-ish minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350

Toss bread cubes with olive oil mixture. Place them in a single layer on a cookie sheet. Cook them until they are done. 15 minutes or more.

[Renee]

I made this soup tonight because I have an earache that makes me want to take off half my face with a spoon when I chew.

I had an enormous costco sized can of crushed tomatoes. Used 2/3 of it and an entire huge red onion.

Plus, you know, the other ingredients in what seemed like reasonable amounts. I only remembered the flour because a previous commentor admitted the omission.

A very forgiving recipe.

I added three dollops of ricotta cheese to my bowl and I must say, am very glad I live alone. No sharing!

[Johanna]

Wow - I just made this and then posted it to FB. It's so good!!! Thanks!

[Leslie]

I made this tonight after my husband idly mentioned that tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich sounded good. It was wonderful.
I love simple, pantry recipes. This will definitely make it into our regular rotation.

[Melina]

yum! I just made this tonight (also with grilled cheese sandwiches) and it was fabulous. I was so relieved to remember that I'd seen something on your food site that would get me through a tough dinner hour. Thanks much....